The low end also seemed to gain power, so it was really about more body and less twang. Not upgrades worth anyone’s time. For today’s set of three simple modifications, I have drawn on the advice of Dan Erlewine for easy-to-fit upgrades to a Fender Squier Stratocaster. With the 5/16″ drill bit in the drill guide we proceeded to drill each ferrule hole. Here’s the finished guitar. Here the outer string holes are drilled, and four out of the five original screw holes are filled. © 2020 Guitar.com is a member of the media division of BandLab Technologies. The most significant change came from swapping out the bridge pickup, and we found that the Seymour Duncan Little ’59 is a great-sounding unit that delivers a full-bodied rock tone while maintaining a crisp attack and excellent … With the saddle heights set, adjust the intonation for each string and your guitar should play pretty well. In an ideal world we might have gone for a traditional Tele bridge with compensated brass saddles; these are easy to source, but there’s a complicating factor: Lyndon has a preference for modern, open-sided Tele bridges. The pickup was the final piece of the jigsaw, and Lyndon located a secondhand example on eBay. The purpose of the project was to turn this Squier Telecaster into a beefier and more powerful rock guitar without compromising its versatility or tonal range. However, we were able to re-use the centre screw hole at the back of our bridge, so that provided a useful location point. I'm curious what upgrades everyone has performed to their CV Teles. Free ... Musiclily Pro 54mm Telecaster Bridge Assembly with 6 Brass Saddles for Fender American and Mexican Vintage Tele Guitar, Chrome. It's a collaboration with keyboard player David Garfield. The reason for changing these is that often on cheaper Squier models they are the vintage bent metal variety. These superior quality bridges have a stamped steel baseplate and brass saddles. 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Four of the best Telecaster bridge upgrade options for swapping out stock hardware. YouTube/stewartmacdonald. Lyndon likes the Seymour Duncan JB Jr SJBJ-1 humbucker on his backup Stratocaster and he wanted something similar for his main squeeze. Although this had a less profound effect than changing the pickup, we did notice a smoother and more full-bodied tone with some extra sustain. From upstart beginnings in the early 60s, Eric Clapton soon established himself as one of the decades’ most lauded players. 59. All the ferrule holes ended up in exactly the right places and the fit was so snug that we didn’t need any glue to hold them in place. Five years on from the King Of The Blues’ death in 2015, aged 89, a new movie featuring Wendell Pierce as BB is in the works. It will make string bending and trem use far more consistent. The centre point for each ferrule was then marked with 7/16″ between each centre point. A strip of masking tape was placed over the holes and a guide line drawn straight along the centre line. The contemporary bridges drop right on to any traditional vintage specification Telecaster® converting it to an adjustable 6 (brass or steel) saddle intonatable bridge removing the need for compensated saddles. Generally we set up guitars with a small amount of neck relief. 3.8 out of 5 stars 26. Looking good and sounding good too. So where to start? 8 – The Pickguard: Telecaster pickguards usually come with either five (’50s style) or eight (’60s and onwards) screw holes, so make sure you order the correct one for your guitar. The finish around the holes did get slightly damaged…, …but the ‘lip’ around each ferrule hides any little chips in the finish. The plywood is clamped in position with our drill mounted in a special drill guide that positions the drill dead square. I’m a firm believer in tweaking your guitar to make it play the way you want. Top Mount Hardtail Bridge fits Teles®, Squier® 51 GOLD. Measuring the distance from the back of the original bridge to the take-off point of each saddle allowed us to roughly position the new saddles, and after that it was finally time to re-attach the neck and string her up. Many guitarists look for simple ways to upgrade or modify their Squier Stratocaster in an effort to get it playing like an American Fender. $12.59 $ 12. Before removing the bridge we used masking tape to mark out the original location, and then we removed the screws and lifted off the bridge. The body is fairly lightweight and the slim neck has a maple fingerboard, diecast tuners and medium jumbo frets. 4 – Fitting The String Ferrules: This was by far the trickiest part of our project. He’s famously driven and single-minded, constantly seeking out great instruments and unique sounds to build a unique catalogue of stellar guitar music.